Experience Cuba by train...

Cuba is a fantastic
country. Cubans are very friendly and hospitable people and Havana has to
be one of the most vibrant cities in the world. It's a safe place to
visit, too, unless of course you fall down one of the many potholes in the
street... Cuba's rail network runs the length of the island, linking the
main cities and towns, and it's an interesting way to get around, especially if
you want to travel with Cubans the way Cubans do, and not in a tourist bus.
Don't expect western standards on the trains, take your own toilet paper, and
allow for the odd breakdown - think of it as all part of the Cuba experience.
In particular, the Tren Francès from Havana to Santiago is a safe,
comfortable and interesting way to
make the trip from one end of Cuba to the other, much better than taking a
cramped long-distance Viazul bus or worse, a flight...

GMT-5 hours (GMT-4
hours first Sunday in April to last Sunday in October).

Dialling code:

+53

Currency:

Foreigners
generally used to pay in US dollars, but in
2004 the Cuban government announced that US dollars
would no longer be accepted. Instead, dollars, pounds or euro can be converted into 'convertible
pesos' where 1 convertible peso is US$1. A 10% tax applies
to conversion of US dollars into convertible pesos (plus the
bank's fee), so assume in practice that $1=0.87 CUC. The
10% charge does not apply to
conversion of euro or pounds into pesos. Cuban
citizens use 'ordinary' pesos.

UK & most other western citizens
need a 'Tourist card' to visit Cuba. You can get a tourist card direct from
airlines & tour agencies serving Cuba, or via Cuban consulates, or from agencies
such as (for UK residents)
www.visacuba.com.

Latest situation...

Cuban train services have changed quite a lot over the last few years,
reflecting difficulties in keeping locomotives going and
finding fuel. However, the problems now seem to be easing,
helped by a fleet of brand-new Chinese locomotives. The timetables below reflect the last concrete information. Origin
& destination times are correct, Camaguey
& Matanzas times are correct, some
intermediate times are guesstimated.

IMPORTANT: Havana Estación Central is closed for a major
renovation from June 2015 until summer 2018, which has obviously overrun and
shows every sign of continuing through 2019...

During this period most trains are
using the nearby La Coubre station instead, although those to Cienfuegos & Pinar
del Rio are using Havana's 19 de Noviembre (Tulipan) station. Just to
confuse you, Le Coubre may be referred to in timetables as Central station, so
stay alert!

If you have any more information that might help
other travellers or keep this page updated, please email me!

Here is the
timetable for
the main line linking Havana, Santa Clara, Camagüey & Santiago de Cuba, and
the branch lines to Sancti Spiritus, Holguin, Cienfuegos, Moron,
Bayamo & Guantanamo. Information on Cuban train services is
difficult to confirm, so treat it as a guide and
check exact times locally. The shortage of fuel in Cuba can
sometimes affect buses and local trains, but these mainline trains
have priority. Fares
for foreigners are also shown below.

E = Runs every 3 days, primera
class seats only. Train 73 shown as cancelled until further notice in
June 2018, no further info available. Train 74 therefore also probably
cancelled until further notice.

** = Havana's main Estación Central is temporarily closed for major
renovation from summer 2015 until some time in 2019 or longer. Most
trains are currrently using the nearby La Coubre station instead, as shown here.
Trains to Cienfuegos & Pinar del Rio are using Havana 19 de Noviembre (Tulipan)
station.

*** = For Moron, travel to Ciego de Avila & change for the local line to
Moron. There are several daily trains Ciego to Moron & back.

? = Guesstimated time.

Trains only have seats, even overnight ones. There are no couchettes or
sleeping-cars in Cuba.

On what dates do these trains run?

Most trains run every 2, 3 or 4 days, a notice at each station tells you what
dates each train runs. However, it is known that the trains listed below
ran on the dates shown below and they will then run every so many days
throughout the rest of the year and beyond, so if you have a calendar (and you
can count!) you can easily work out what dates it will run until further notice.

Tip: Use
www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html to count the number of days between
one of the 'reference point' dates shown below and the date you want to travel
(leave the 'Include end date in calculation' box un-ticked). If the train
you want runs every 4 days, then if the number of days between the reference
date and your travel date is divisible by 4, the train runs. Simple,
really!

Train 7 ran from Havana on
24, 27, 30 March 2019 and runs every 3 days.

Train 8 dates not known.

Train 9 ran from Santa Clara on
29 May 2016 and runs every second day. No later dates known!

Train 10 ran from Santiago de
Cuba on 23, 26, 29 March 2019 and runs every 3 days.

Train 13 ran from Havana on
20, 24, 28 March 2019 and runs every 4 days.

Train 14 ran from Manzanillo on
20, 24, 28 October 2018 and runs every 4 days.

Train 15 ran from Havana on
22, 26, 30 March 2019 and runs every 4 days.

Train 16 ran from Guantanamo on
23, 27, 31 October 2018 and runs every 4 days.

Train 17 ran from Havana on 21,
25, 29 March 2019 and runs every 4 days.

Train 18 ran from Santiago on 23,
27, 31 March 2019 and runs every 4 days.

If you go to Cuba & can take
a photo of the latest departure dates,
please email me! For Havana, but
especially for departures from Santa Clara, Camaguey, Santiago...

Foreigners pay higher fares
than Cubans. Foreigners used to have to pay in US dollars, but since
November 2004 US dollars are no longer accepted in Cuba and foreigners pay train
fares in 'convertible pesos'. 1 convertible peso = around US$1.

Buying tickets in Havana

Foreign
visitors
cannot buy train tickets at the Estacion
Central, but should walk on round the corner to the Le Coubre station
on the Avenida del Peurto. From the Estacion Central, continue
down Egido Street along the Old Wall towards the harbour and then
turn right, and it's about 100m away.

At other stations, you can book at the normal ticket
office. It's best to book a day or two in advance if you can.

Children aged 0 to 4
travel free, children aged 5 to 11 travel at half fare, children aged
12 and over pay full fare.

Traveller Miles Larbey reports
(Dec 2018): "The main railway station in Havana is still very much
under renovation, and looks like it will be that way for some time to come. So
you still have to go to La Coubre station around the corner to buy tickets and
catch trains. The cost of a ticket from Havana to Santiago de Cuba was
30CUC (19CUC to Camaguey). I bought the ticket the day before departure
and you need to have your passport with you. A helpful member of staff
inside the reservation office, which is to the right of the main entrance, took
my passport and came back with the ticket after 5 minutes or so. There was no
problem buying the ticket, although you will have to put up with the slightly
incredulous looks that you want one in the first place."

"My train was scheduled to leave
at 18h00. I had been advised to arrive one hour before. I'm glad I did because
you have to confirm your ticket before you can board the train, which involves
queuing up at the Confirmation counter and the queue moves quite slowly. You
have to show your passport here again."

Buying tickets in Santiago de
Cuba...

Traveller Chuck Anderson
reports: "You can get tickets up to 5 days in advance for the 860km journey
from Santiago de Cuba to Havana. The station is a large modern
barn down by the port, but you can’t buy a ticket there. The ticket office is
about a hundred metres west. No, not the first building, that’s a refreshment
stand. It’s that white structure further on that looks like a temporary shed.
You can get information at the window, but to buy your ticket you have to enter
an unmarked door around the side. Here, as in any procedure to do with
transportation or communications in Cuba, you will find a waiting room with a
patient queue of customers. But, because we were obvious foreigners who would
pay in hard currency, within a few minutes they opened a special window for us.
The process still took some time, as it involved a lot of writing and stamping
by hand. You will also need your passport and 62 CUCs for a first-class ticket.
You are instructed to be at the station an hour before departure. Good advice,
because you still can’t get on the train until you get your ticket stamped There
was a lengthy queue at the window, so we went round the back and the woman in
the window ticked our names on her list and stamped our tickets.

The train between Havana and Santiago uses classic, grubby but reasonably
comfortable stainless-steel air-conditioned coaches bought second-hand from
French Railways and known as the Tren Francés. These
classic coaches were originally used on the glamorous Trans-Europe Express (TEE) service between Paris,
Brussels and Amsterdam before being replaced with high-speed
Thalys
trains. They were shipped to Cuba in 2001 and originally used on train
1 & 2 until it was cancelled. Train 11/12 then used the Tren Frances
cars, although the air-con systems have been removed and sliding windows
installed. Train 11/12 has now been renumbered 17/18 (June 2018) but may
still be using these cars.

There are no sleeping-cars or couchettes, just seats. When these cars
first arrived in Cuba, the old 1st class was sold as Primera Especial and
the old 2nd class was sold as Primera. The whole train is now sold
as just one class, Primera, but the train still physically has
its original first & second class seating, so ask for a seat in cars 1 or 2 as
this was the old European 1st class with carpet and cloth seats arranged 2+1
across the car width as shown in the photos below. The remainder of the
train is the old European 2nd class, with vinyl padded seats 2-abreast on each
side of the aisle.

The train is getting worn and grubby, but the seats are
reasonably comfortable even if they don't recline, there is powerful air-conditioning
and a café. A hostess looks after each coach (or did, when this was first
introduced as train 1/2). Make sure you bring your own toilet paper!
Expect delays, it's all part of the fun!

The TrenFrancés
from Santiago to Havana,
boarding at Santiago.Photos courtesy Chuck Anderson.

These once-glamorous stainless-steel cars
used to run on crack TEE trains between Paris,
Brussels & Amsterdam!

Primera especial seating...

Arrival in Havana, an hour
late. It's often more!

Other express trains

Other
trains consist of older cars, in many cases bought second-hand
from Germany, Mexico or Japan. In spite of travelling
overnight, there are no sleeping-cars or sleeping accommodation of any
kind - the trains just have reclining leatherette
seats. These trains are an experience - don't expect them to be
the cleanest or best maintained trains you will see!

One-way fares for foreigners

Havana Casablanca station -
Hershey - Matanzas

An electric railcar runs on a
railway originally built by the Hershey Corporation (the chocolate company) from
Havana's Casablanca station, across the harbour from Havana itself, to Hershey
and Matanzas. The timetable changes every so often, so always double-check
train times locally, although these are February 2015 times.
See the Hershey Railways photos below...

To reach Havana Casablanca station, take the frequent ferry across the harbour from
the foot of Santa Clara Street in Havana old town. The ferry runs every 20
minutes, only costs a peso or so, and gives great views of the bay - although it
can be interrupted in bad weather. There's an airport-style
security check for the ferry, implemented after a ferry was hijacked and sailed
to Miami in 2003, and items such as razor blades are not allowed, so be prepared
and allow plenty of time. Once on the other side, Casablanca station is
immediately west of the ferry dock, looking more like a tram stop than a
conventional station, but just follow the overhead electric wires along the
street. Buy tickets on the train.

In Matanzas, the Hershey
railway station is about 2km from Matanzas mainline station. Buy tickets
on the train.

Havana ►
Hershey ► Matanzas

Matanzas ►
Hershey ► Havana

Havana Casablanca

04:45

12:21

16:35

Matanzas
Hershey station

04:39

12:09

16:25

Hershey

06:24

14:00

18:16

Hershey

06:30

14:00

18:16

Matanzas
Hershey station

08:07

15:41

19:59

Havana Casa.

08:01

15:31

20:07

Fare: All
passengers should pay in local pesos. Havana to Hershey is 1.40 pesos, Havana to
Matanzas is 2.80 pesos. Tickets go on sale
1 hour before departure.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 2019: The
line sustained hurricane damage in late 2017, with extensive damage to the
overhead electric wires. You'll need to check locally whether the line has
been repaired. It' was still out of action in March 2019, although the section
between Hershey & Matanzas was reported as running in July 2018 and this section
is still believed to be running in 2019.

Take
a good guidebook to
get the most from a trip to Cuba. For independent travellers I'd
recommend either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide, both guidebooks provide
an excellent
level of practical information and historical and cultural background. Lonely
Planet Cuba -
Rough
Guide to Cuba

Click
the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

www.hotelscombined.com
checks all the main hotel booking sites at once to find the widest choice of
hotels & the cheapest seller. It's been named as the World's Leading Hotel
Comparison Site in the World Travel Awards and I recommend it
to find hotels in even the smallest places and to check that another retailer
isn't selling the same hotel for less.

www.booking.com
is my favourite hotel booking site, and unless HotelsCombined throws up major price
differences I prefer doing my bookings in one place here.

You can usually book with free
cancellation - this allows you to confirm your accommodation at no risk before train
booking opens. It also means you can hold accommodation while you finalise
your itinerary, and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all
the time when putting a trip together.

Personal
hotel recommendations in Havana...

There's no
shortage of historic hotels in Havana, many with movie star or
Hemingway connections.
The oldest hotel in Havana is the
venerable
Hotel Inglaterra, very central near the Capitolio and walking distance
from Old Havana.
The most luxurious hotel, even today, is the
Hotel Nacional de Cuba, once the haunt of Sinatra and Ava Gardner,
although it's quite a hike from the Capitolio in central Havana, and
further still from Old Havana. The
Hotel Sevilla is also a good
choice, not far from the Inglaterra and once Al Capone's favourite.
Finally, there's the comfortable
Hotel Ambos Mundos, located right within
Old Havana, where Hemingway's room can still be seen, complete with
typewriter, an excellent choice.

Overland travel by train & bus around
Cuba is an essential part of the
experience, so once there, don't cheat
and fly, stay on the ground! But a
long-haul flight might be unavoidable to
reach Cuba in the first place. For
flights to Havana, compare airlines at
Skyscanner.net.

Travel
insurance & health card...

Take out decent travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible
limit.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year, I have an annual policy myself. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.

Get a spare credit card, designed for travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money
explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency
exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use
an ATM abroad. Taking this advice can save you quite a
lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street
bank credit card!

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be
secure. A VPN means your connection to the internet is encrypted & always
secure, even using unsecured WiFi. In countries such as China where access
to Twitter & Facebook is restricted, a VPN gets around these restrictions.
And lastly, you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse
with, to get around geographic restrictions which some websites apply - for
example one booking site charges a booking fee to non-European visitors but none
to European visitors, so if you're not located in Europe you can avoid this fee
by browsing with a UK IP address using a VPN.
VPNs & why you need one explained.
ExpressVPN
is a best buy and I use them myself.